White coat hypertension, more commonly known as white coat syndrome, is a phenomenon in which patients exhibit elevated blood pressure in a clinical setting but not in other settings. It is believed that this is due to the anxiety some people experience during a clinic visit.
Daytime ambulatory blood pressure is used as a reference as it takes into account ordinary levels of daily stress. Many problems have been incurred in the diagnosis and treatment of white coat hypertension.
The term "masked hypertension" can be used to describe the contrasting phenomenon, where blood pressure is elevated during daily living, but not in an office setting.
Read more about White Coat Hypertension: Diagnosis, Implications For Treatment
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